Events

As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics approach, this series of lectures will examine how the Olympics will impact the Japanese economy, politics and culture, as well as what has been the meaning of the Olympics for past host countries. Four lecturers will give talks providing international points of view in their fields of expertise. The lectures are in English and will prove informative to anyone with an interest in the internationalization agenda and movement.

Lecture 1

Every time host cities bid for the Olympics, the physical infrastructure of the games plays a paramount role. In "selling" the Olympic bid to domestic audiences, as well as to the Olympic Committee, the future, post-Olympic use of the infrastructure is very important. The impact of the 1964 Olympics on Tokyo's infrastructure as a city rebuilding from devastation to become a leading international center is legendary and includes the dissemination of color TV, the Shinkansen, and the Yoyogi and Komazawa complexes.

There has again been a great deal of discussion and controversy over the infrastructure being developed to support the 2020 Olympics, but although the physical infrastructure was critical in helping Tokyo develop as an international city in the 60s and 70s, in the 21st century the development of Tokyo's social infrastructure will be much more important than the physical infrastructure. It will be as critical in helping Japan develop a truly global economy as the physical infrastructure was in helping Tokyo develop as an international city.

Lecture 2

Date:

Wednesday, November 4

Topic:

Are Japanese Citizens Prepared to Host the Olympics?: Debates Surrounding Foreign Language Education in Japan

With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics approaching, we have seen a rise in discourses that assert a strong need for improving foreign language education in Japan, particularly English language education, so that Japanese citizens will be better prepared to welcome a large number of athletes, news media, and tourists that are expected to visit Japan during and after the Olympics. These discourses resonate with long-standing internal debates about the "failure" of foreign language education in cultivating citizens that possess proficiency in communicative English. A history of these debates in modern Japan will be presented, pointing to their relevance to Japanese educational policies.

Hosting the Olympic Games means opening doors to the world. But does the arrival of thousands of foreign athletes, tourists, journalists, and leaders promote intellectual openness in the host country? Is it possible that people in host-countries become more international, cross-national, or cosmopolitan in the way they think about themselves and their own nation? Do the Olympics challenge or reinforce national parochialism and exceptionalism? I offer a framework for thinking about national self-perception, suggest ways international events might promote change, and give evidence from past Olympic Games in Britain, Japan and the United States.

Lecture 4

Date:

Tuesday, November 10

Topic:

The Olympics: What can Tokyo 2020 learn from London 2012 and Sochi 2014?

Each Olympics is unique, yet host cities can learn much from the experiences of their predecessors. This lecture examines the successes and failings of the most recent Summer and Winter Olympics and seeks to draw lessons for Tokyo 2020. In particular, attention will be given to the question of the extent to which the Olympic Games can be used as an effective means of promoting the international image of the host country.